‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ (Season 2) Review: The Highs and Lows of Sauron’s Impending Reign
With the return of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in its second season, showrunners, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, have a lot to improve. The prequel series is set thousands of years before the imminent war against the Dark Lord Sauron towards the end of the Second Age. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is a beloved high-fantasy series with a devoted fan base familiar with the expansive universe. The Rings of Power is one of the highest-budgeted television series ever made for a streaming platform, and the evidence of the hard work put into production is evident.
Personally, I was not a huge fan of the first season. There were many problems such as the underdeveloped characters because it squeezed so many storylines into eight episodes, and the unbearable, slow pacing that ruined the first half of the series. I recently re-watched the series to refresh my memory and understand why I was so mesmerised by this series. While I appreciated the grand set designs of Númenor, Khazad-dûm, Lindon, Eregion, and the magnificent Elven costumes and armoury, it was a disconnected show with many plot holes and underdeveloped characters.
However, after watching the second season (all episodes were provided for review purposes), I will say — nay, admit — that this current season is slightly better, albeit with a few issues. There are new conflicts and betrayals within Middle-earth that explore compelling character arcs and storytelling. The show’s pacing issues and underdeveloped characters are problems that keep recurring each season. I’m curious how the showrunners and writers will address these issues in future seasons. There is, unfortunately, an ongoing theme of imbalance storytelling due to its vast characters scattered around Middle-earth, which turns into a disappointing and disconnected season.
The Rings of Power begins with an early version of the Dark Lord, played by Jack Lowden. After the fall of Morgoth, Sauron is desperate to gain more power and arrogantly, self-proclaims himself as the new Dark Lord. Adar (Sam Hazeldine, previously played by Joseph Mawle) is unhappy with the new leadership. With the Orcs behind him, Adar orchestrates a rebellion and kills Sauron, or so they thought. Defeated and bitter that Adar took over his reign, Sauron takes on a human disguise. As Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), he wanders around Middle-earth until he meets the Commander of the Northern Armies, Lady Galadriel (Morfydd Clark).
When Elrond (Robert Aramayo) learns about Sauron’s disguise, he immediately informs High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), the Last King of Noldor, about this falsehood and the finished Three Elven Rings forged by Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). Desperate to save the Tree of Valinor, Gil-galad, Galadriel and Círdan (Ben Daniels) wear the Elven Rings, preserving the Elven race in Lindon. But Elrond believes Three Rings should be destroyed. This causes a rift between Galadriel and Elrond. Galadriel is morally conflicted because she chooses to wear Nenya, even though her enemy helped Celebrimbor forge the Three Elven Rings. But little does she know that Sauron already has another plan to forge the remaining Rings of Power.
In Eregion, Sauron reveals himself to Celebrimbor as Annatar, Lord of Gifts, in a different disguise. He convinces Celebrimbor that he was sent from the Valar and tasks him to forge Seven Rings for the Dwarves. Sauron slowly deceives him and corrupts the rings to take control of anyone who wears the Rings of Power at its final stage.
Meanwhile, underneath the misty mountains of Khazad-dûm, Dwarf King Durin III (Peter Mullan) disowns his son, Durin IV (Owain Arthur), and exiles him from royal duties after disobeying his father’s orders. Durin IV’s wife, Disa (Sophia Nomvete), constantly berates him to forgive his father and move on from their bitter disagreement. Durin III turns mad with greed, forcing the Dwaarves to work day and night but it leads to a dangerous discovery.
On the other side of Middle-earth, The Stranger (David Weyman), Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards), part of the Harfoot migratory caravan, are wandering the deserts of Rhûn to help him seek his destiny and his staff. An unnamed Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds) and the masked trackers, or Easterlings, hunt The Stranger and the Harfoots. They must find the answers to his true powers and learn his identity before the mysterious lands of Rhûn and its foes sabotage their mission.
For the most part, the new season of The Rings of Power has compelling stories. The problem, however, that keeps occurring is the show compressing heavy world-building and a massive array of characters into eight episodes. I will keep saying that until I die, but if the showrunners had developed the series into 10 episodes and moved some storylines, especially Númenor to the second season, the pacing would be more balanced.
One major issue with this season is the imbalance between Eregion and Númenor, and the rest of the subplots in Middle-earth. The series heavily focuses on Celebrimbor and Sauron’s relationship in Eregion, but the rest of the major characters barely have a story to tell. The Stranger, Nori and Poppy are wandering in circles in Rhûn. Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) works to unseat Queen Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and take full control of Númenor. Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), two central characters in the Southlands during the first season barely have much to do, especially the former. Arondir has a better arc this season. He has a bigger story to tell in the later episodes with a revenge arc. Isildur (Maxim Baldry), an important character at the end of the Second Age, is too busy fighting monsters. He barely has any character development in this season. Perhaps Númenor will be a much bigger story in the third season because Pharazôn’s darkness is slowly consuming the island. But in this season, the set-up to the third season and the eventual downfall of Númenor is disappointing.
The Rings of Power has repeatedly shown that it has the potential to tell great stories. But it is a shame to see some storylines being put to the side, or in this case, an imbalanced pacing that hurts the future of this series. The central story of this season is Celebrimbor and Sauron’s relationship, which is explored extensively. The series spends a significant amount of time on Sauron’s manipulations. But it forgets the rest of the characters. I cannot ignore that, once again, The Rings of Power has made the same mistakes from the first season. The Stranger, Nori, Arondir, Theo, and many more, are meant to continue to the third season. But it seems like the showrunners are having trouble putting together all of these characters and their storylines into one season with just eight episodes.
Regardless, Celebrimbor and Sauron in Eregion is, possibly, one of the best arcs of the entire season. I was blown away by Edwards and Vickers’ performances, as the dark lord manipulates the ill-fated craftsman to do his bidding and forge the Rings of Power and rule Middle-earth. Celebrimbor is the heart and soul of this season.
The Rings of Power heavily emphasises how even the greatest Elven Smith could fall into the darkness and be deceived by Sauron. He successfully plays mind tricks on Celebrimbor to weaken his mind and give him a false sense of reality by manipulating the world around him. It works perfectly. The desire to save the Elvish people and bring greatness to Middle-earth is also driven by darkness. Their relationship is ambitious and powerful, which shows the true tragedy of it all. Celebrimbor and Sauron’s relationship, which was lacking in the first season because of the changes made in the timeline, is fleshed out with precision. It is narratively quite satisfying, and heartbreaking, as the story progresses.
Another refreshing (and improved) character arc is Galadriel, who had a hard time maintaining her diplomatic relations because, for some reason, she was written as a petulant teenager who makes rash decisions. After being deceived by Sauron, Galadriel tries to recover her reputation with High King Gil-galad and her best friend, Elrond. Neither Gil-galad nor Elrond is convinced she is in the right mind to lead an army and defeat Sauron. Her initial thirst to slay the Dark Lord is still lingering but because of Sauron’s deception, her heart and mind is in conflict with one another. This theme repeatedly surfaces in this season to show how the trust she built with Haldbrand has tarnished her. She repeatedly pleads with Elrond to see her perspective and aid her in defeating Sauron. But the task proves harder for her to achieve.
Unlike the first season, which barely shows their friendship, it’s nice to see Galadriel and Elrond together. Even though they bicker and rebuild trust, they navigate this conflict by working through scepticism and understanding the moral purposes of the Three Rings. Galadriel and Elrond is a refreshing dynamic providing a satisfying arc, with unlikely partnerships. Clark’s reimagining of Galadriel, especially in this season, is significantly better. She is more clear-headed and logical. She is mortified by her past consequences, regarding Halbrand. Her personal conflicts are much more intriguing, even though she has less screen time. But that’s fine! The lead-up to the final episode of the season is a satisfying end that screams good character development with a compelling story to tell.
The Rings of Power’s second season is rich in certain aspects, and it’s great to watch Tolkien’s world spectacularly come to life. Darkness is quickly looming in the shadows. How the events of the Second Age culminate depends on how the storylines and characters are developed in the future seasons.
Since the beginning, the series has struggled with uneven pacing due to the ensemble of underdeveloped characters. It’s clear that the showrunners are dedicated to bringing Tolkien’s world to life. They believe in the show’s potential to reach bigger heights. This is evident in Celebrimbor and Sauron, Elrond and Galadriel’s storylines, which capture Tolkien’s fundamental themes. But how long will this devotion sacrifice aspects of storytelling to create something bigger and grander each season? Will The Rings of Power become an example to develop a successful and compelling fantasy series or a great lesson to avoid in the future? Only time will tell.
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Books about Palestine on Verso Books
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More reading materials on Palestine
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